In Italy, same-sex marriage is illegal and gay couples don’t enjoy any of the civil rights granted to heterosexual couples, such as adoption

By Maria Caspani

NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A court in Rome approved the adoption of a child by a lesbian couple in the first such ruling in Italy, local media reported.

One of the two women is the biological mother of the five-year-old girl and her partner of ten years was awarded legal custody of the girl last week. In Italy, same-sex marriage is illegal and gay couples don’t enjoy any of the civil rights granted to heterosexual couples, such as adoption.

Speaking through their lawyer, Maria Antonia Pili, the couple told Italian news agency ANSA that they were happy and “almost incredulous” of the court’s decision.

The couple, who live in Rome, had travelled abroad for one of the women to undergo an assisted fertilization procedure.

The Rome court ruling comes after the country's high Cassation Court approved last year adoption by gay couples where one partner is the biological parent of the child, granted that “authorities determine there is no threat to the child's development,” ANSA reported.